


First Prince

by liberalistempor



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-09
Updated: 2012-06-09
Packaged: 2017-11-07 09:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/429688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liberalistempor/pseuds/liberalistempor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is a prince. This is not as mysterious as it sounds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Prince

This was his reality. 

He was the crown prince of the kingdom, the small island nation called Eyr'Stal, the Eye. His kingdom is located in the center of stormy waters, almost impossible to navigate, except by his family. They're alone, he knows, unmatched. He dresses in silvers and silks, soft leather boots and a silver singlet circling his dark hair. Their kingdom was formed on shipwrecks and disasters, accidents and paradise. This is his reality. Eyr'Stal has existed since the dawn of sailing, and his lineage has ruled with gentle power and grace for as long as the island has stood, the only bloodline able to circumnavigate the constant hurricanes and monsoons that rage around their waters.

The weather is always temperate, and a tropical wonder. On the horizon the sea guards his land with violent storms, eternal dark around Eyr'Stal. He walks out of the palace with a smile, heading for his customary walk along the beach. The island is perhaps forty miles around it's widest point, and a rough circle. Two freshwater rivers and a lake in the upper left quadrant secure life in Eyr'Stal, and it's citizens are careful to preserve the nature of the island, leaving large sections fallow for decades at a time. It's picturesque, unlike the outside lands. 

He has seen those places, dirty and crowded with little hope or prosperity twice in his lifetime. It's filled with horror, and he doesn't know how anyone survives out there. He looks at the gentle waves reaching the shore and sees small boats out in the waters, careful not to accidentally reach the perimeter and fall.

“Prince Arthur!” a messenger calls. He turns to see them running to him. “Prince!” 

“Yes?” he asks calmly. It was unusual for him to be summoned like this. “What is it?” 

“Someone's washed up!” 

“A shipwreck survivor?” Arthur asks, surprised. The dead are usually the only ones that wash up on the shores of Eyr'Stal. 

“He called your name,” the messenger says. “He hasn't woken up.” 

“Take me to him.” 

[PAGE BREAK!]

“This is he,” the messenger says when they approach a small hospital. “The survivor.” 

Arthur peers at him. The strangers is of stocky build, muscular and tan like any other sailor Arthur knows. He has a straight nose and...long eyelashes. Full lips and hints of beard growth on a strong jaw. 

“He hasn't said anything else,” the doctor says. “It is most unusual.” 

Arthur peers down at the newcomer, and it's at that moment the long eyelashes part to reveal blue-green eyes. They both start, even as the stranger coughs slightly, seawater and the faint pink tinge of blood spilling from his lips. Arthur steps back as the stranger stands up. 

“That went very differently thank I imagined it would,” the man murmurs to himself, almost absently. “The boundary is good, perhaps even a little too effective...”

“I'm sorry,” Arthur says. “But my messenger says you had called for me.” 

“I did,” he affirms, cutting off his own ramblings. “My prince.” 

“Are you one of this island?” Arthur asks. “I do not think I know of you.” 

“This is a place I am most familiar with, Arthur,” the stranger says, smiling with him, an edge of mystery to his gaze.

The doctor, apprentice, and messenger stop the menial tasks they were performing to stare at the waterlogged stranger in the bed. Arthur frowns, and they go back to their tasks as if nothing had happened. He turns to the man. 

“Come, are you well enough to walk?”

“I am.” 

“With me, then,” Arthur says, and the two depart. 

[PAGE BREAK!]

They both remain silent until they reach the beach, and then the stranger smiles at him once again. 

“So, do you know who I am?” the man asks, walking calmly despite for all records being nearly dead two hours ago.

“None,” Arthur says. The smile seems to deepen. 

“I see.” 

“Are you going to tell me?” he asks, looking out at the constant storm at the borders of the horizon. 

“It is more fun to be in this little game with you, darling.” 

“That is not the appropriate way to address a Prince.” He frowns at the newcomer, and wonders what possessed him to take a walk with this stranger. If his father was not on a trip to mainlands, he would be appalled. 

“I suppose not, but it suits you so well,” the man teases, and Arthur cocks his head. He hadn't noticed the unique accent the man had with his words. Different from the others on Eyr'Stal. 

“Who are you?”

“Do you remember how you got here?” he counters. 

“I asked you first.”

“I had the more interesting question.” Arthur quirks his lips, and thinks about it for a moment. A small crease appears in his features.

“I woke up in my...rooms...” 

“Did you, now? Are you sure about that?”

“I must have. And then I dressed and...dined. Then I was on the beach, taking a walk.” 

“Of course, of course,” the man reassures, and it bristles Arthur. 

“What business is that of yours?” Arthur demands. They continue walking, and begin the climb up the tall bluff by the palace. 

“I am merely curious, Arthur.” 

“Your curiosity annoys me.” 

“Spoken like a true prince.” Arthur stops, suddenly full of rage. This conversation had gone on far enough. 

“I am a prince! I am the crown prince of Eyr'Stal, and no stranger is fit to tell me otherwise!”

“How did you get here, then? Am I the first person you've really talked to all day? Do I seem livelier than the other little subjects of your precious little world?” the man challenges.

“Tell me your name, so I can give it to the guards!” he demands, ignoring his questions. “You will be punished for your actions!” 

“Arthur, darling...I didn't think it would affect you like this,” the man says. Arthur hadn't noticed how high up they had gotten. He stares down at the blue water, the stranger a warm solid behind him. “This is unusual. I'll have to tell Yusef.”

Arthur isn't listening. All sounds seems to have been removed from his head, the crashing of the waves and the dulcet tones of the new man Arthur had taken a strange taste for. It seems as though there is music playing from the heavens. He frowns, turning to the man, then gasping. The entire city was behind them, climbing up the bluff towards them. Their faces are impassive, ominous. It is a massive crowd, but entirely silent.

“Ah, the kick,” he says. He smiles. “It's good you turned towards me, looking at your impending doom can be quite sickening. Come along, then, pet.” He takes a step forward, and Arthur instinctively takes one backward. “Oh, and to answer your previous question, you may call me Eames.” He takes another step, and then they're falling down into the water. Arthur flinches, bracing himself for the fall, and then...

“Welcome back to the land of the living!” Yusef says cheerfully, moving to remove the needle from his arm. Arthur opens his eyes slowly, squeezing them shut again when the light hits them. He's wearing jeans and a tee shirt, no sign of silver or leather boots anywhere. They're in a hotel room. Eames is sitting up next to him, already adapted to the vastly different environment. 

“My prince,” he says with a wink, and Arthur frowns. “That was your first foray lucid dreaming. I hope you enjoyed the little universe I had whipped up. But now, we've got a lot of work to do, darling.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just got this idea, and I had to stick with it. It's actually fairly short, for me. Anyway, thoughts?


End file.
